One of the most effective ways to protect yourself from con artists can be learned through meditation

Call me sick and twisted, but one of my favorite psychological
studies found that many people would rather give themselves
electric shocks than sit alone and unstimulated for up
to 15 minutes.

The research, published
in 2014, nicely illustrates how painful it can be to
experience your own thoughts and emotions without anything to
distract you. It's part of the reason why meditation is so hard
for so many people (including me): You can't escape yourself.

And while meditation per se isn't necessary to be a fully
functioning person, that process of getting to know yourself just
might be.

One of the best strategies? Mindfulness,
which means being aware of your thoughts, feelings, bodily
sensations, and environment, and accepting your thoughts and
feelings without judging them.

In other words, Konnikova said, you want to get really
good at observing and understanding your emotions.
That's because con artists will seize on those moments when
you're emotionally vulnerable — so you need to be able to
identify when you're in that state and not get caught up in it.

"There's one thing in particular that makes anyone, intelligent
or not, a good victim. And that isn't a personality trait. It's
not a demographic trait. It's a situational kind of thing: Where
are you at this point in your life? People who are going through
life transitions become more emotionally vulnerable and con
artists can spot that."

The con artist, Konnikova said, often succeeds because they're
selling meaning and certainty at a time in your life when you're
feeling uncertain. And unfortunately, it's really difficult to
know when you're getting scammed.

That's where mindfulness comes in.

Here's what Konnikova told Altucher:

"The number-one thing is trying to take a step back from your
emotion. Our world is clouded by our emotions — how we're
feeling, how someone makes us feel, how a situation makes us
feel, how we're just generally feeling that today. …

"[Con artists] play on that. They actually excite your emotions.
They are very good at eliciting certain feelings which then cloud
your judgment. … The second you're emotional, you're no longer
logical. You're no longer reasonable."

So how do you become more mindful and more attuned to your own
emotional experience?

Konnikova said she personally meditates for about 10 minutes a
day, which can be helpful.

She also recommends one simple but challenging experiment: Go for
an hour-long walk in nature … without your phone.

Konnikova said you might initially experience a moment of panic.
But ultimately the experiment will show you what it's like to
really be alone with you.

"Mindfulness isn't just noticing things about the environment,"
she told Altucher. "It's noticing things about yourself. It's
being able to pay attention to your thoughts, what's going on
inside your head, how you're feeling, to actually read your own
body and your own emotions."

When you become adept at pinpointing your psychological and
emotional states, you're less susceptible to the work of a con
artist.

As Konnikova said, "The only way that you can then account for
[your emotions] and that you can make accurate judgments is if
you are able to understand yourself."